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Feline presence, graceful silhouette, purring accomplice ... Under the affectionate trait of Jean-Jacques Sempé, cats become mysterious and endearing characters. The compositions of these drawings often revolve around their pensive gaze on the world. Silent spectator of the city, the cat oscillates between the fascination for the agitation, and the melancholy of not being part of it.

All of Jean-Jacques Sempé's subtle poetry and derision are found in this drawing. The Eiffel Tower, like an oversized beast emerging from the jungle, stands in the back of the Parisian, impressive and reassuring at the same time. With a shy look, the tiny communicates with the immense, and normality with dreams of grandeur. From the 7th arrondissement to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris is a constant subject of observation for Sempé.

As a greeting to the sun on Sempé’s August 11, 1997 New Yorker cover. The simplicity of the infinite landscape, the gradations of the dawn sky, the thin strips of foam and the pastel yellow sand beach, make the little gymnast in red shorts who stands on his head, a real ray of sunshine.